


we're gonna be legends

by Embersofthefrosts



Series: oneshots from bursts of inspiration [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, How Do I Tag, Not Beta Read we Die like Warriors, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, also all the ships are platonic in this lmao, also have i said that i love morally ambiguous/chaotic good deceit? because i love them, and i didnt do it well but oops, anygay enjoy!, aroace deceit, blacksmith!deceit au, deceit patton and virgil are warlocks, deceit-centric, its a bday gift for hawthorn!, its set in a fantasy world, oh yeah deceit also is gender nonconforming, roman remus and logan are humans, there are other creatures just those are the main character species, uhhhh i kill one of the 6 and i'm sorry for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 09:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20374867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embersofthefrosts/pseuds/Embersofthefrosts
Summary: deceit was used to this.deceit was used to all of this.deceit heard everything.that’s what their weaponry, their jewellery, their accessories were designed to do.only the bravest. only the worthy. only the truest.





	we're gonna be legends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HawthornShadow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HawthornShadow/gifts).

> This was written for Hawthorn! it was their birthday yesterday and ive been trying to write this all month to get it done in time but ended up busier than i thought and yesterday i was travelling all day back from thailand, so after that i was just too tired to post lmao.  
anyway ive had this idea since me and a few others talked about deceit making weapons/acessories since we talked ab it in the powerless discord so therefore, months later, i wrote this!  
also remus is difficult to write so i guess he's pretty ooc in this lmao
> 
> happy bday, you AUddict!
> 
> (also if you see a mistake, pls tell me lmao)

deceit was used to this. 

deceit was used to all of this.

deceit heard everything.

that’s what their weaponry, their jewellery, their accessories were designed to do.

only the bravest. only the worthy. only the truest.

~

they never let more than three people own a specialised weapon at once. 

the weapons had many forms. whips that curled into bracelets or clothing ornaments. rings adorned with energy storage jewels. swords that manoeuvred themselves into belts. bows would shrink into necklaces. every weapon or item they made could become something no more abnormal than the trees that surrounded their cottage and forge. which is to say, not abnormal at all. 

there were three alive currently.

the first of those still alive who owned an item was a warlock, who deceit remembers as a young adult trying to find his place in the world, but now they realise that the young magician must be must now be much older. of course, they could go and observe the man, and see what toll the time has, or perhaps not, considering that some warlocks- the strongest ones- could live on as an immortal. this warlock surely was powerful, but was he enough to live on forever? deceit didn't have the mind to check.

this warlock was devoted to helping children of unfortunate situations, wild spirits lost to abandonment or power. his ring, that balanced over two fingers, was encrusted with a large pale blue gemstone that had its own phosphorescence upon activation. curled around the gem and around the fingers of the man was a golden snake, ruby eyes that simultaneously watched over the man to assure him of his worthiness, and to watch over the gem from any rogues. there were two sides to the contract, after all. 

in the decades that the ring was owned, it had only been used for good, so far. it was used to save the innocent and the stragglers and the unfortunate. 

for now, patton was worthy.

~

there were two people who came after patton, but neither were alive. one was slain by a restless gilen, the other by deceit working through their weapons. 

the former was bold and selfless, working to protect her family and village that had raised her. the woman was gifted with an uncanny ability to handle a spear from a young age despite the lack of magic. as she grew, her village suffered the wrath of surrounding wendigos. the girl, as she was just barely, had come to them asking for a weapon that could kill the monsters once and for all. so deceit had taken the girl’s plead with a coy smile and drifted over to their shelf of scrolls, not responding to the human. finally, they had turned to look over their shoulder at the girl, asking for what weapon she desired. 

deceit preferred working with gold and bronze and sometimes steel, but they knew what this girl needed. the silver bars that had tarnished slightly finally came down from the shelf in their forge, and while the head of the spear was pure silver, they still needed there to be gold. that was their speciality. that was their chosen material to enchant. 

at a snap of their fingers, the tarnish disappeared. at another, the fireplace lit. with the last, came the ignition of a white-hot flame under the cauldron.

first went in the gold. the mass melted quickly under the practised hands and magic of the blacksmith. with ease, deceit lifted an amount of gold into the air, manipulating it with deft movements of their hands. a beam of metal was held in the air, as deceit snapped their fingers again, and now there was an empty cauldron in place of the one with gold in. they flicked their fingers in the direction of the silver bars and with one hand focused on keeping the pole of gold suspended in the air. deceit worked their magic, spinning a masterpiece of a weapon, the gold blending nicely with the silver. the shaft of the spear was shaped as deceit’s trademark, a snake with ruby eyes, a swirling mix of gold and silver. in the fanged mouth lay embedded the silver head of the spear, to be driven into the hearts of the wendigos and kill them eternally. at a flick, the weapon shrunk and coiled around into a sort of choker, and about as harmless as cotton fluff, to her, at least, if she upheld the rules of the contract. 

she died fighting. a rogue _gilen_ was destroying crops and terrorising the outskirts of her village. as brave as she was, she was reckless and underestimated the power of the half-dragon, half horse. the omen that came with the creature was fulfilled with the death of alyssa, and back came deceit’s creation, to curl around his neck, adding to the showcase that was of fallen warriors and liars. 

alyssa had been worthy, but she had been mortal.

the former was a man more obsessed with power than any first impressions could imply. deceit wouldn’t lie when they said that the man had a way with words that reminded them of themselves. he was alive for two weeks after he got his weapon of choice; the crossbow was gold, beautiful, intricate. it snapped perfectly into a watch looking piece on the arm of the man. it was one of deceit’s favourite pieces so far. they were more than happy to wear that when it can back to them. 

the vampire had forgotten very quickly about the terms of the contract. he had forgotten about the ability of deceit’s to watch for traitorous behaviour; for lies and murder and arrogance. 

and therefore deceit had no choice but to lash out at the words of the undead. their crisp snap of the fingers echoed in their head. their vision was tinted red, and as they looked around, they relaxed into the role. the bracelet turned and stared at the vampire, ruby eyes glowing with limitless power. 

“i told you ssssso…” they hissed out in a breath.

the death was quick, and the accessory made its way back to the maker. 

roderick was not worthy.

~

the two still alive came together. they are twins, both so similar yet both so different. both princes of a faraway land, both looking to save their kingdom from peril, both looking to complete a prophecy. one has self-doubt, one has not; one relies on positive attention, the other has no care for it. they both were fine adults. 

they wanted a different weapon each. one wished for a dagger, sure to scar and beat opponents. one wished for a sword, royal and mythical and bold. 

deceit that day, had no patience to disagree and listen to any pleading they might do. they swept off to find two contracts. 

“‘i hereby agree to the terms that the greater warlock deceit has stated.’” He paused. “so, your contract wishes that in return for the items you watch over us to assure that your goods are not being used for bad. if we do happen to defy your contract rules, ‘to be the truest, bravest, the worthy’, then you have every right to strike out and reclaim your crafts. however, the weapons themselves will be powerful enough to defeat our opponents, say, the dragons?” the more regal one enquired, as the other brother let his gaze drift about the room distractedly. 

“yesss, yesss, that wassss all mentioned in the contract, boy.” deceit let the words rest on their tongue, irritation clear in their eyes.

“i am no boy anymore. we are princes, men of our kingdom.” 

“you are but infants to me, and not of my own country, why must i conform to your standards, boy?”

he was silent after that. 

“very well.” his brother piped up. “its not like we have anything to lose. and there won’t be much of a cost with a handsome devil like you watching over us.”

deceit rolled their eyes.

“pleassse ssspare me the complimentssss.” they hissed, bored. 

soon both contracts were signed, and the forge was lit with a rapid series of clicking. a flutter of fingers brought the titanium and steel and gold to two blades. 

“brother blades, born of same fire, bestowed to two brothers of same blood.” 

the sibilant words dragged out of their mouth and hissed with a hidden undertone so powerful that at that moment the twins could do nothing but stare as the warlock stared into the flames, hands working almost elegantly as the fire burned bright in the reflection of their eyes. 

the blades fell from their suspension in the air to the bubbling mass of gold, eyes glowing with a faint yellow. 

if the princes hadn’t been trained with a watchful eye to notice any small and quick movements, they would’ve missed the way deceit’s hands flashed, adorned with partially visible rings as they flickered around, raising the two blades from the cauldron. a small crease appeared between the brows of the warlock as one hand left manipulating the dagger and sword to levitate four tiny stones, minuscule movements setting the rubies into the head of the snakes.

with a flourish, deceit presented the two with the blades. both shimmered in the light of the fire, but both held a sort of glow about them. 

as they reached for the blades, deceit held a hand to stop them. 

"together."

one looked over to the other, and with a curt nod both reached out and gripped the hilt of the sword and dagger, respectively. 

gold shimmers warped around the hand of the elder, while silver curled around the younger. 

both shared a glance but neither dropped the weapon in their hands.

“it’s been many years since i last crafted brother blades. when you fight together, you will be stronger. your stamina and strength will increase. when you part, you main drain quicker. if one is injured, then the other can lend energy to help heal. i entrust you two to not use this power for your own good, instead to uphold your morals.”

after they left, deceit had nothing to do but wait as their quest continued.

for now, remus and roman were worthy.

~

roman and remus were checking their scroll. 

_a wall of fire, the hall of snakes_

_demise of greed and desire _

_pass the caverns echoing_

_warlock of the woods_

_and spirits once uncontrolled_

_in the sky of blue and black_

_as a lonely star falls_

“the mountains and caverns lay east from here. we must carry onwards.” roman sighed. their oracle gave such long winded prophecies

“must we continue on today, brother dearest? we could stop and rest here for the night. Plus, we could kill some time. it _is_ fun.”

roman rolled his eyes. 

“fine, but you go hunting. you know it’s not my thing.”

remus’s eyes lit up as he was granted permission by his elder twin. he grabbed his new weapon and made off into the woods, while roman went about setting up camp and collecting logs that may be dry enough to light.

deceit left watching roman to follow his brother. 

remus had managed to set up a small snare in the few minutes deceit had spent observing roman back the the camp, and was actively searching for something.

he paused suddenly, and deceit could only watch as the knife in the prince’s hand went flying, deceit’s vision into their world swirling, dizzyingly rotating before plunging into something. deceit watched as whatever the dagger was embedded in staggered over. the hunt was obviously successful. 

remus bounded over, grabbing the hilt of the small knife, marvelling it as he held it up.

”how was that, my dear snake?” came a sultry whisper.

they rolled their eyes. they didn't know how they were going to deal with the man’s constant eccentricity.

he tapped it against the wood of the tree he was stood next to, and the blade shivered in his grip before all the blood merely disappeared. 

”handy. no more needing to clean this thing of blood. or something else.” he again flashed a wink towards the snake around the hilt, and deceit decided enough was enough. 

they left watching either of them.

~

it only came to deceit a few days later who they would be looking for. 

they found themselves looking through the ring once more. 

and when the princes came and went, deceit stayed, if only to give him a small sense of security, the younger warlock unchanged in appearance.

deceit watched as the two slew the witch with her dragon. their blades flashed gold and silver and flew with absolute certainty.

it was such a shame that the dragon-fang dagger found its way into remus’ heart. 

burning bright silver as he fell from the dragon, the kingdom knew what was meant by a lonely star falls.

deceit heard roman’s guttural roar, and suddenly pitied the boys the kingdom sent to war. 

the broken body lay next to the felled dragon, a pool around his frail body, and roman was there, brought to his knees, sobs bursting from his chest and tears splashing down his cheeks.

roman shakily reached out, grasping hold of the dagger his brother wielded. No matter how much energy lent could fix this.

”deceit, i am aware that your contract states that you would reclaim the weapons once the wielder has passed but may i ask to keep this. even just for the funeral. _please_?”

deceit had considered sticking to their contact form, but they had softened over the years and roman’s plea full of sobs, and he realised that he was just a boy, so instead took control of the dagger, turning to look over roman’s shaking hands.

”you may keep it.” they hissed quietly.

with that, they turned and glided over to the passed prince, and curled around his head, forming a golden band, a crown, for the worthy prince.

deceit left the kingdom to grieve. 

~

the next one after him was merely a child. he was clothed in mere rags, the gentle shyness as he mumbled and shrunk into himself.

”what age are you, youngling?”

”ten, sir.”

”and you wish to know how to protect your siblings?”

”yes, sir.” his responses got quieter.

deceit didn't let the boy see the wrinkle between their eyebrows before it smoothed.

they let a small comforting smile onto their face for a few seconds.

“how much magic do you know?”

“not much sir. we weren’t allowed to use it.”

“do you want me to teach you?”

“if it will help me protect my siblings then yes.” the resolute determination that had taken control of the boy was sudden, and deceit was suddenly drawn back to the two men who came in beyond three decades ago. 

he taught, and he raised, and he trained. this small boy afraid of who he was had suddenly become more like a son, his purple tinted skin and fangs and all. 

deceit watched him leave one day with a smile and realised they had softened far too much. 

_what had happened to them? _

deceit supposed it was age.

he forbid themselves from teaching the young warlock again. he turned him away at the door with no reasons, nothing except the ring. 

it was very similar to patton’s in style, but the jewel encased in the snake’s hold was black with purple veins running through it. deceit had found it sometime last year, instantly reminded of his young apprentice, and had enchanted it not long after.

deceit forced themselves to not think about the look of betrayal on virgil’s face.

~

a year passed with nothing catching their fancy, nothing holding their interest long enough. they were restless. 

the warlock ran his hands over their face. _this was not good. _

their cloak had settled over their shoulders. their fingers had lost some of the many rings, instead just bearing a few; their neck bore only one piece, the spear. they carried a few smaller weapons, but not many. 

their hat found their head, and then they were leaving. they put up the wards around their cottage, cloaking and diverting any attention from there. 

they walked for many days. they walked for many months. they lost all track of time as they collected gems and jewels. they didn’t know how long they was gone. all they knew was that they were far from home and doing something. 

which was better than doing nothing.

they found themselves in a kingdom they had only seen through red tinted vision.

they made their way through the winding villages and towns, observing the marketplaces, but never buying, until they found themselves in the capital, working their way towards the castle.

they didn’t know what made them wish to see roman properly, not through the jewels.

“i didn’t think i ever expected you to be in this hall, yourself.” deceit turned to see roman, now much older, hair starting to grey and eyes warm but still not untouched by time.

“pleasure to see you too, roman.”

“i’m also impressed by you feat to somehow slip past the guards into this hall. classy.”

deceit let their mouth tick up. 

“it was… a feat to get past. not particularly easy,” roman’s chest seemed to rise in pride. “but not particularly difficult either.”

roman sighed, rolling his eyes. 

“i should’ve expected that.”

deceit made a noncommittal hum as he stared from one of the windows.

“would you like to return to somewhere more private?”

he couldn’t help but look back at the king, and the royal escort were doing the same.

“if it would be no more hassle.” came the murmur.

roman nodded, expecting that answer, before sending one person to fetch something, and turning to leave the room. 

“are you coming?” roman threw teasingly over his shoulder. 

once in a smaller, more private room, roman turned and dismissed the two guards by the door. 

“but sire- “ 

“go. if he wanted to harm me, he would have done it many years ago.”

the guards turned reluctantly, leaving as they had been ordered.

roman sighed, and deceit saw how different the boy he had met many years ago and the man who had looked after the kingdom for many years were. time had taken its toll on the human.

“i suppose you are here for his dagger. it’s silly, i know, but it’s comforting. he loved that, you know, in the short time he had it. but it’s been many years, a few decades, i shouldn’t still be holding on to something like that, so if you want it ba-“

“i didnt come for the dagger, roman.”

that stopped the king.

“really?”

“i allowed you to keep it. i saw the anguish on your face that day, and you own the blades twin. i can’t just take it away. no, i didn’t come for the blade,” it was deceit’s turn to sigh.

“then why did you come?”

“i’m not completely sure. i’m old and restless. i have unfinished business. i’m cruel to my clients- or i was.”

“if you wish to talk, i’m here. i’ve been alive for long enough to pick up _some_ of the wisdom people used to say i needed.” 

and so they talked. they talked about how the contract was unfair, and discussed how times had changed and moved on and deceit suddenly realised what their ‘unfinished business’ was.

“i’m sorry, roman. i’m sorry for holding you to morality rules i didn’t even realise i wasn’t following myself.”

roman smiled. 

“i need to apologise to all the remaining owners. honestly, i know where to find patton, it’s just virgil i don’t know about. oh goodness he probably hates me. i was so cruel to him. he was just a boy.”

roman looked up sharply. 

“virgil, you say? slightly purple skin, fangs? warlock virgil?”

“yesss… you know him?”

“yeah. he works with the physician. we took him in despite the stigma some people hold against warlocks here, despite the fact i’m trying to get rid of it.”

“he’s here?”

“yeah, i saw his ring and though he must be trustworthy enough. surely you could’ve checked it?”

“i don’t want to infringe on him. plus… the way i left things i didn’t know if it would make it worse. like i said, he probably hates me.”

deceit pressed their eyes closed.

“i pushed him away, forced him away, was cruel, barely looked at him. i told myself i was going too soft. four years of training him gone down the drain.”

“you could probably fix it if you explained everything.”

“it’s been so long. roman, i’ve been horrible!”

“and you realising that means you’ve got better now! now you need to work out what you need to do to apologise.” 

deceit sighed. they felt lighter now, but still as if they carried a heavy weight. which, they supposed, they did. deceit let out a short laugh.

“how, pray tell, did you become so wise. what happened to the brash boy i met?”

roman smiled, emotion clouding his eyes. 

“he’s still there, it’s just i had to grow up and move on. had to learn to forgive myself. we all go through something.”

deceit stood, composing themselves back into the more regal version of themselves. they smiled.

“thank you, roman.”

and they turned and left.

~ 

it didn’t take long to find the royal physician’s office. 

deceit took a calming, steadying breath before raising his hand to knock on the door.

the door opened to reveal the older, now taller version of virgil, who, once he saw who was on the other side, promptly slammed the door shut with a glare. 

deceit heard the “no” yelled through the door.

they forced away the memory of betrayal on virgil’s face.

“virgil? virgil please listen to me. i know i messed up bad. i know that. i…” they trailed off. “you’re allowed to be angry at me, hate me, everything, just…” deceit’s tongue felt heavy in their mouth. they didn’t know how to do any of this. “just, let me apologise. if you still hate me afterwards, i’ll understand. i just want… need to do this.”

the door opened slowly, revealing the younger warlock sat atop a shelving unit across the room. he nodded his head at a chair. he still wore a glare.

and so came everything. they told virgil everything. of life being a child of astaroth, more powerful than anyone would recognise, too much power for this mortal world. they told virgil of the horrors they had seen; people who crushed and destroyed everything with power. they told virgil of their ideal world from thousands of years before him. and they explained their harsh rules, and how they held their customers to higher standards; the highest, in fact, or they would die by deceit’s hand. they told virgil of how they took him in, a small warlock child who wanted to protect those he loved but yet having no clue of what to do in the world. and they told virgil of how they realised they had lost their edge, how they were calmer now, less paranoid, a softer person. and how scared they were of that. 

everything came out. all the truths that lay around their head. they had pushed virgil away, had hurt him, because they were scared. 

“i guess this is all to say i’m sorry. i’m sorry i pushed you away when you needed me. i’m sorry i made you feel unwanted. i’m sorry its taken this long for me to get back to you.”

virgil was looking at deceit from under his bangs, weary eyes sad and tired, but didn’t respond. 

deceit stood, turning to walk away. which they did. but before they left the room virgil called out his name.

“i can’t forgive you,” deceit paused, turning their head to show they were listening. “not yet, at least. i’ll need time. but i’m glad you came to apologise. i can appreciate that.”

“thank you.” it was quiet, but they knew virgil could hear them.

“i just wanted to ask. what are you going to do next?”

deceit let out a slow breath, turning to face virgil once more.

“probably try and find living relatives of these weapons. i know alyssa had a child before she died, i might try and find descendants of hers. perhaps burn the contracts. its all very new to me right now, but i'm going to try and fix things. it's the best i can do.” 

virgil nodded and smiled. maybe not a happy, joyous smile, but a comforting, shy one. deceit turned and left.

maybe comfort was one thing he needed.

~

deceit spent the next few years tracking people, trying to return their descendants belongings. turns out alyssa had a living grandson, a boy going by the name of logan. he was a few years younger than virgil, and very inquisitive, but not a bad person. they found other relatives of past customers, gave them their great-great-grandmother's sword, or their great-grandfather’s ring. for people like roderick who had no living descendants, the weapons or jewellery were given to children with troubled pasts; deceit’s way of showing the world they had a second chance. 

they gave patton a great deal of older belongings as well. patton was doing his best to help young spirits, deceit would do well to do the same. 

and eventually, virgil forgave him. 

and suddenly it seemed like maybe everything wouldn’t be so bad. deceit was finally satisfied. and they were finally _happy_.


End file.
